Courses

A comprehensive introduction to the nature of the problem of the Latin American society. A general study of the geography, the historical background, the social, economic, and political contemporary developments as well as the influence of religion and ideology on the Latin American and Caribbean countries.

This course will examine the role of race and politics in Latin America by examining concepts such as mesticagem or racial mixture and how that shapes relationships of power and development in these societies. We will also examine the role of whiteness and blackness and how such concepts are used to ensure hierarchies of privilege and disadvantage. What role does a racialized hierarchy play throughout Latin America when considering who are the haves and have nots and which roles are racialized groups such as indigenous and Afro-descendants in Latin America allowed to play in national development? We will first learn about theories of race, politics, and history in select countries. Second, we will apply the theories we have learned to focus on Latin American countries such as Colombia, Mexico, Cuba, Brazil, and Argentina.

This course explores the history of Chicanas/os, people of Mexican descent in the United States, from the Spanish colonization of North America to the present. It is organized chronologically, proceeding through the geopolitical and social processes that created and shaped the Mexican American community. Themes will include, but are not limited to, the creation and shifting of borders and borderlands, the development of Chicana/o identity, race and mestizaje, gender dynamics, labor and power, migration and citizenship, activism, politics, and religion and culture. We will pay special attention to the processes by which Mexican Americans demonstrated agency and resistance in the face of racial and ethnic discrimination and erasure.

Crosslisting: HIST 196.

Studies in Latin American and Caribbean Studies.

A survey course on Latin America from Conquest through Independence. Topics include exploration of: 1) how Spain and Portugal conquered and colonized the Americas, 2) how they managed to maintain control over those colonies, 3) how the colonized (Indians, Africans, and mixed races) responded to the imposition of colonial rule, 4) the role of women and gender in colonial settings, and 5) the implications of colonialism for the study of modern Latin America.

Crosslisting: HIST 141.

Drawing together the histories of Europe, Africa, and the Americas, this course explores the origins, development, and meanings of the new Atlantic World created after 1492. Topics may include imperial expansion and colonization, European-Amerindian relations, European-African relations, slavery and the trans-Atlantic slave trade, the growth of mercantile capitalism and the establishment of an Atlantic economy, the maturation of Euro-American colonial societies and their struggles for national independence, and the abolition of slavery.

Crosslisting: HIST 161.

This course will introduce students to Latine dances as embodied practices. The course aims to move our understanding of the stereotypes and appropriation produced by mainstream culture to create new knowledge and awareness of the depth and richness of these Afro-diasporic forms from the Caribbean, Latin American and US Domestic Latine communities. Dance forms include merengue, salsa, samba, and reggaeton, and the way these thread through the movement language in contemporary dance in the Caribbean, Latin America, and the diaspora.

Crosslisting: DANC 235.

This course critically examines the social construction of gender and sexuality in Latin America from the pre-Hispanic era through the modern period. Particularly, it will explore the various attempts by the ruling elite to define acceptable and deviant gender roles and sexual identities, how the non-elite resisted the imposition of those elite notions of propriety to create their own codes of conduct, and how those conflicts have changed over time. Moreover, we will survey how historians use issues relating to gender and sexuality – domestic violence, prostitution, homosexuality, transvestitism, etc. – to elucidate the histories of Latin America.

Crosslisting: HIST 243 and WGST 243.

This course examines testimonio as a feminist and decolonial practice emerging from Central America and its diasporic communities. Rooted in struggles against colonialism, U.S. intervention, patriarchy, and state violence, testimonio functions not only as a literary genre but as a collective act of memory, survival, and political resistance. Students will engage literature alongside news media, community archives, digital testimonios, and other cultural and historical sources to unpack how feminist practices emerge from these spaces. Grounded in an intersectional decolonial approach, the course centers the interconnected forces of race, gender, sexuality, class, indigeneity, migration status, and geography in shaping both oppression and resistance. Through close reading, contextual analysis, and interdisciplinary research, students will examine how activists, writers, and communities narrate violence, produce counter-archives, and generate decolonial knowledge across borders.

Crosslisting: WGST 287.

Have you ever heard a Spanish speaker in the United States say escuela alta, rufo, llamar para atrás o queik? Or have you heard someone switch from English to Spanish in the same sentence? What is Spanglish? Do you have a friend who doesn't know Spanish even though his parents speak it? Is Spanish a foreign language in the US? Have you ever heard someone say that we shouldn't speak Spanish here? The United States has a Hispanic population that is larger than most Latin American countries. But, unlike other Spanish-speaking countries, Spanish is a minority language in the US. In this class, we study various social and linguistic phenomena that arise from this situation. Among other topics, we analyze the history of Spanish in the US, the racialization of Spanish, language policy, Spanish in education, Spanglish, and Latinx identity.

Prerequisite(s): SPAN 215 or permission of the instructor.

Students will analyze texts from Pre-Columbian times to the present within their historical, sociocultural and artistic contexts. This course offers an overview of main literary periods, authors and genres. Students will examine a variety of texts and the outstanding characteristics of their authors. Students will engage in critical analysis of texts through research essays, creative projects and oral presentations, at the ACTFL intermediate-high level. Conducted in Spanish.

Prerequisite(s): SPAN 215 or consent of the instructor.

Crosslisting: SPAN 325.

This course will explore different representations of dictators and dictatorships throughout the history of Latin American literature. It will trace distinctive images of this figure in Latin American cultures, beginning with the separation between civilization and barbarism during colonial times, the presence of the caudillo in the 19th century, and ending with contemporary images of the dictator in the 21st century. Conducted in Spanish.

Prerequisite(s): SPAN 215 or consent of the instructor.

Crosslisting: SPAN 326.

Discover the vibrant performance practices across the Americas! This course explores how theater and performance in Latin America and Latine communities have shaped social and political realities from the colonial era to today. Through readings, videos, and critical analysis, we examine avant-garde theater, community activism, street performance, and more, tackling key themes like colonialism, revolution, gender, borders, and cultural identity. You might even get to visit a regional theater festival! Conducted in Spanish.

Prerequisite(s): SPAN 215 or consent of the instructor.

Crosslisting: SPAN 338.

This course explores Latine and Chicanx women's health through feminist theories and methodologies. Key thinkers like Gloria Anzaldúa and Cherríe Moraga guide our critique of the socio-cultural constructions of women's bodies and health, promoting an understanding of bodily autonomy, reproductive rights, and intersectional healthcare. Assignments will involve analyzing Latine/Chicanx cultural texts (literature, art, film, media) through a feminist lens, considering how social and cultural factors shape narratives around women's health. We'll examine the diverse experiences of women, especially focusing on race, class, sexuality, and nationality within Latine/Chicanx communities. The course includes comparative studies of cultural representations and acknowledges the importance of localized, community-specific studies to avoid overgeneralizations. Content is grounded in Latine/Chicanx feminist scholarship, encouraging students to engage critically with readings and case studies from leading feminist scholars and artists. Conducted in Spanish.

Prerequisite(s): SPAN 215 or consent of the instructor.

Crosslisting: SPAN 381 and WGST 383.

As posited by film scholars such as Jean-Louis Comolli, the history of cinema has been in large part the history of the twentieth century. This is particularly true in Latin America, where it has been associated with national projects of modernization following the establishment of independent republics throughout the nineteenth century. In Mexico in particular, cinema has played a central role in nation-building, making it an ideal venue for the exploration of the relationship between film and ideals of nationhood. How are these ideals articulated through family relations, encounters with gringos, indigenous vs. European worldviews, rural vs. urban space, etc.? Students will engage in critical analysis of texts through research essays, creative projects, and oral presentations at the ACTFL intermediate-high level. Conducted in Spanish.

Prerequisite(s): SPAN 215 or consent of the instructor.

Crosslisting: SPAN 385.

Why do humans curse? What factors determine whether a word is a swear word, as well as the social weight it carries in any given Spanish-speaking country? Why do curse words vary so broadly across different varieties of Spanish, with their English translation depending so heavily on context? Along with the social grammar of cursing, what is the actual linguistic grammar of cursing in Spanish? What can we learn about the overall syntactic and grammatical logic of Spanish as a language system by studying what structures are (and are not) possible when cursing? Fulfilling the language studies curricular requirement for the Spanish major and minor, this course aims to enhance your working knowledge of Spanish grammar while providing a limited introduction to (socio)linguistics, contextualized with a considerable amount of history and cultural studies. Warning: vulgar language will be used in every single class. Conducted in Spanish.

Prerequisite(s): SPAN 215 or consent of the instructor.

Crosslisting: SPAN 387.

This course examines how legal frameworks influence cultural identity throughout the Americas. From colonial European codes to modern surveillance and migration laws, students examine how the "Coloniality of Power" governs the Latin body. Through media and archives, we deconstruct "legality" as a manufactured social status rather than a moral absolute. Conducted in Spanish.

Prerequisite(s): SPAN 215 or consent of the instructor.

Crosslisting: SPAN 388.

This is a course specifically focused on Cuban culture. We will explore several aspects particularly relevant to the construction of Cuban national identity such as race, class, migration, nationalism, and cultural identity. The course will be historically contextualized and moments such as the colonial experience, the development of the republic, the Cuban revolution, and the post-Castro Cuba. During the semester, we will analyze a variety of artifacts and cultural productions, including literary texts, paintings, films, and cartoons. Conducted in Spanish.

Prerequisite(s): SPAN 215 or consent of the instructor.

Crosslisting: SPAN 389.

This course revolves around two questions; How can we explain the main international migration flows in the past 50 years? And what are the political, economic and socio-cultural consequences of the recent international migrations on receiving and sending countries? To provide well informed answers to these questions, this course is divided in three parts. The first part provides the basic concepts and theories to study international labor migration issues. The second part takes a historical and international approach and studies some major international labor migration flows since the late 19th century. The third part discusses the political, economic and socio-cultural consequences of the recent international migrations on receiving and sending countries. This study will also include examination of some of the related public policy issues and controversies. The course incorporates institutional and historical contexts, socio-political dimensions and power relations in examinations of complexities of international labor migration. During the course students will work in teams and use various data sources to study some recent migration issues and provide well-informed answers to research questions assigned to each team. The results of this team work will be shared with the class in a presentation at the end of the semester.

Prerequisite(s): ECON 301.

Students may enroll in Senior Research in their final year at Denison. Normally, Senior Research requires a major thesis, report, or project in the student's field of concentration and carries eight semester-hours of credit for the year. Typically, a final grade for a year-long Senior Research will not be assigned until the completion of the year-long Senior Research at the end of the second semester. Each semester of Senior Research is limited to a maximum of 4 credit hours. Note: Senior Research may not be used to fulfill General Education requirements.

Students may enroll in Senior Research in their final year at Denison. Normally, Senior Research requires a major thesis, report, or project in the student's field of concentration and carries eight semester-hours of credit for the year. Typically, a final grade for a year-long Senior Research will not be assigned until the completion of the year-long Senior Research at the end of the second semester. Each semester of Senior Research is limited to a maximum of 4 credit hours. Note: Senior Research may not be used to fulfill General Education requirements.